Not surprisingly, the Saints were talking about turnovers on Monday after shooting themselves in the foot once again in Sunday's 23-10 loss at Houston.

The Saints now rank last in the NFL in turnover ratio at minus-10 (21 giveaways, 11 takeaways). They coughed up three turnovers at Houston, including a Reggie Bush fumble at the Texans' 1-yard line in the first quarter.

"We've got to do a better job and a more consistent job of protecting the football," said Saints Coach Sean Payton, who also stressed that the Saints "don't have any more wiggle room" with just six games remaining on the schedule.

New Orleans (4-6) is two games back in the NFC South race behind Tampa Bay (6-4). The good news is that the Saints get to play all three of their division rivals over the next three weeks, starting with a trip to Carolina this week.

"I can't think of being in a more urgent position," Payton said. "This is it."